Dear family and friends,
Another week in Thailand has flown by! The highlights of this past week include more missionary house inspections, patriarchal blessings, time in the temple, another night at the movies, and a sightseeing trip with the Senior Missionaries to see the Big Buddha in Bangkok! Head straight to the pictures for all of the details.
But first, as always, we love you and miss you and thank you for your love, support, and prayers.
Love,
Elder and Sister Brady (mom and dad, grandma and grandpa, John and Shelly, and so on)
Saturday morning we got up early (well, not that early)
and headed out to Nonthaburi (a suburb of Bangkok) to do some sightseeing.
On the MRT (subway) pictured above: The Bradys, Calls, and Justensens!
The MRT went from below ground to above ground! I did not know it did that!
This is the farthest we have ridden the MRT (subway) before.
In the distance, you can see the Big Buddha (in the center of the picture above).
After a 26 minute ride on the subway, we started our 1/2 mile walk to the Big Buddha. The winding streets brought back fond memories for Elder Brady and Elder Justensen of old Bangkok back during their mission days, before skyscrapers were everywhere!
It was a lovely walk down side streets.
This building is covered in bamboo scaffolding! This also reminded the Elders of Thailand in the old days, back in the late 70s and early 80s.
I loved this cute building.
Bright colors and quiet streets!
I'm not sure what this is, but I liked it! So I took a pictures.
I also liked this display of toys, instruments, and other oddities hanging on the wall.
I haven't seen much of Popeye since I was a child, but he is popular in Thailand!
Poor little stray kitty.
A tiny shrine.
I spy the Big Buddha!
Walking over the pretty klong.
Smile :)!
I spy Big Buddha again!
Big toes!
The Justensens, Bradys, Calls, and a new friend pose for a picture.
Next to the Big Buddha was a big Pagoda! We decided to check it out!
I liked this sign that assured us we could take pictures on the 5th floor as long as we were not in any of the positions noted on the sign! Basically - No yoga, no jumping, no dancing (especially one handed-hand stand dancing), and no hugging or kissing! We had not trouble obeying these rules!
A view from the Pagoda.
Beautiful artwork.
More beauty!
A museum filled with Buddhas.
Another balcony view.
The 5th floor was so amazing!
Another (not as) big buddha!
We spotted this other fairly large Buddha on our way to the bus stop.
We also spotted this reclining Buddha on our walk.
We made it to the bus! See the wooden floors on this bus? We are sure this bus was in Thailand before Elder Brady was here on his first mission. There was no AC but the windows were open and it felt cooler with the wind than we did on our walk outside.
We have been to Icon Siam a few times, so we ate lunch with the Seniors and had some coconut ice cream for dessert and then headed home while they stayed and explored the mall.
Sunday, we took a drive to Ramkhamhaeng to go to church with a friend, who ended up not being able to make it. But we enjoyed being in this little chapel in a Thai speaking ward.
After church, Elder Brady had two patriarchal blessings. These sisters attend the Bangkok International Ward, but are actually originally from Myanmar. This cute sister is Thet Thet.
And this darling sister is Su. Both of these sweet girls were so fun to get to know.
Sunday dinner! We made a yummy curry dish! It was delicious! And we had a bowl of fresh fruit. John and I are already talking about how much we are going to miss Thailand.
Monday, I had a doctor's appointment. I took this picture as I walked back home along the klong. I could have taken the water taxi, but I enjoy the walk.
Tuesday evening, we decided to take a walk outside. We normally walk in the lower parking lot below the temple to avoid some of the pollution that gets trapped in Bangkok this time of year, but we wanted to walk to Villa Market and buy some Hershey's chocolate syrup! Haha! We had a craving!!
I spotted this colorful Tuk Tuk on our walk!
These birds were enjoying a feast of rice along the klong.
More views of our walk home from Villa Market. You can see the moon in the beautiful clear blue sky. This was definitely a better day to walk outside (as long as you don't mind the 95 degree heat!)!
More stray kittens!
The temple and the moon. To be honest it had probably cooled down to 90 degrees. It might have even been in the high 80s by the time we got home.
I love to see what the hungry Elders ordered for lunch!
Elder Park eats the same healthy meals (lunch and dinner) every day, chicken breasts and cabbage and carrots! He did, however, enjoy the extra treat of McDonalds and added two small burgers, some corn, and sodas to his regular meal (that he brought from home)!
Wednesday evening, we decided to go to another movie! We went and saw "The Sheep Detectives!" It was a good clean, family friendly movie! I recommend it! We enjoyed another giant popcorn! I also recommend the giant popcorn! Haha!
Previews for Toy Story 5!!
Thursday afternoon, we enjoyed some time worshipping in the temple.
Thursday, after work, we enjoyed a game of cribbage. If you are familiar with the game, you might note the really good hand I had there! John accuses me of gloating, but I said nothing about this amazing hand at the time. However, I did think it would be fun to document it here in the blog! Hahahaha! :)
It's Friday morning in the office and I am working hard including finishing up this week's blog!
And that wraps up this post.
Thanks for tuning in to the blog!
We love you and miss you!
Until next time . . . Sawatdee Ka!
